Football: India advance to 2nd round of Men’s World Cup qualifying in Doha

In the Men’s Football World Cup qualifying round, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu played the match of his life as India held Asian Champions Qatar to a goalless draw to earn their first point in a Group E second round in Doha yesterday. Gurpreet led the Indian team who are 41 rungs below in the FIFA rankings. Qatar are ranked 62nd in the world to India’s 103.

The Bengaluru FC custodian, who was recently awarded the Arjuna award, made a string of saves to keep the hosts at bay for the entire duration of the match. Qatar had 27 shots on target and yet failed to beat Gurpreet in India’s goal as the team under Croatian Coach Igor Stimac celebrated the draw like a victory at the final whistle.